Palmer talks to continue

WOLVES officials will have further discussions about former England midfielder Carlton Palmer's proposed transfer from Coventry when they visit the Sky Blues for tomorrow evening's televised west midlands derby....

WOLVES officials will have further discussions about former England midfielder Carlton Palmer's proposed transfer from Coventry when they visit the Sky Blues for tomorrow evening's televised west midlands derby.

Molineux boss Dave Jones had hoped to tie up a three-month loan deal for the veteran before the Highfield Road encounter, but will now use his spare time at the ground to discuss Palmer's move with his opposite number Gordon Strachan.

City snubbed Jones' approach as they want to slash their wage bill by offloading the 35-year-old on a permanent deal.

Jones - who signed gangly Palmer from Leeds United when he was Southampton boss - said: "They will not let him come on loan. I will have talks about it on Sunday with Coventry manager Gordon Strachan."

A deal for Palmer, who Coventry have allowed to train with Wolves, is now likely to be concluded next week.

Jones has been dealt a double injury blow ahead of the derby date, with the news that defender Darren Bazeley and striker George Ndah are both ruled out.

Bazeley is expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks after undergoing an operation to remove excess cartilage tissue from his knee, while Ndah is also struggling to overcome a pre-season problem.

Hennessy confirmed: "Darren is out after his operation and George is still struggling with a groin strain he picked up in pre-season. Neither will be fit for the game."

Jones feared that defender Lee Naylor could also miss out after he was kicked on the shin against Portsmouth last weekend but he has made a full recovery in time to be included in the squad.

Strachan is sweating on the fitness of goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. The highly-rated shot-stopper was due to feature in the England Under-21 team that beat Holland 4-0 on Tuesday, but he withdrew from the squad after suffering a knee injury. Julian Joachim is also out injured.

Birmingham take on Millwall at St Andrews in a match that kicks off at noon. Police hope the early start will help avoid any crowd trouble.

Blues manager Trevor Francis is buoyed by the return of striker Paul Furlong, who struggled in pre-season with a groin strain.

A club spokesman said: "Paul is doing okay. He had a bit of a groin problem but came off the bench against Wimbledon last Saturday and looked fairly sharp. Trevor has high hopes for him this season."

Francis was raging after the weak surrender to Wimbledon last weekend. He slammed his side's defending in a match that was overshadowed by Dons fans' protests against plans to relocate their club to Milton Keynes.

Blues striker Marcelo was not involved last week but could make Francis' squad to face the Londoners.

Millwall defender Matt Lawrence has recovered from a pre-season knock but is not likely to start. Manager Mark McGhee is likely to keep faith with the same side that thrashed Norwich 4-0 on the opening day of the season.